How Does Harper Lee Portray the Themes of Innocence, Maturity and Growing Up in “to Kill a Mockingbird”?

In ‘To Kill a Mockingbird’ written by Harper Lee, the author has used numerous different methods to portray the themes of innocence, maturity and growing up. These themes were put in so that the audience could become more empathetic towards the characters, especially the protagonists. She depicts these themes through characters, events, using symbolism, imagery and contrast located throughout the book.

Firstly, Harper Lee shows the themes of innocence, maturity and growing up through the main characters of the novel. Due to this particular theme, the two main specimens would be Jem and Scout. Both these characters start as innocent, carefree and typical children until the dire events unroll, they start to lose their purity as they start to understand the real world. This loss of innocence is Harper Lee’s method of allowing the reader to observe the changes in Scout and Jem, as she transforms them into adults with adult qualities. Atticus teaches Scout to be empathetic towards people. Atticus attempts to make Scout grow up; “Atticus had promised me he would wear me out if he ever heard of me fighting anymore; I was far too old and too big for such childish things, and the sooner I learned to hold in, the better off everybody would be”. Jem learns to treat everyone equally, as he would want to be treated. It can be seen when he realises the cruelty of society when he says; "I always thought Maycomb folks were the best folks in the world, least that's what they seems like".

In addition to the previous thought, Lee also portrays these ideas through the events that occur throughout the book, route of passage of the children. This journey represents the path from innocence to maturity, the world in which they grew up in, to the cruel, evil, outside world. The children’s first sign of maturity was when Atticus said “You never really understand a person until you consider things from his point of view - until you climb into his skin and walk around in it". This...

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...HowDoesHarperLee Present The Theme Of Courage In To Kill A MockingbirdHarperlee presents the theme of courage through several of the characters within TKAM, such as Scout, Atticus, Calpurnia, and Mrs Dubose. Within the book courage is shown in different ways such as Scout’s innocence and naivety or Atticus’ reluctance to carry out an action but still having to carry it out.
One character to show courage is Atticus who shows courage twice as he shoots Tim Johnson and stands up to the lynch mob to defend Tom Robinson. The Tim Johnson incidence occurs when a dog (Tim Johnson) has rabies and is acting like a ‘mad dog’ and ‘walking dazedly’ so Atticus, although reluctant, has to shoot him. This shows courage as we learn from Miss Maudie that Atticus ‘wouldn’t shoot till he had to’. From this we learn that Atticus would only shoot as a last resort, which he had to when he shot Tim Johnson. The event shows Atticus’ courage as shooting an innocent animal takes bravery and the fact that he was forced to in order to prevent the dog from harming others shows that it was brave of him to shoot Tim Johnson. The effect of this on the reader is that they see a different side to Atticus as we already know that he is moral but before this event we learn along with Jem and Scout that Atticus is the ‘deadest shot in...

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...likelihood of victory is small.” Once said by Anon. In other words, if the outcome of you succeeding is little to none, it’s the strength you give to keep on going that truly matters. In the novel “To Kill a Mockingbird” by HarperLee proves this quote to be accurate through characterization among the three main people in the book, Scout, Atticus and Jem.
Scout is a young lady who is intelligent and confident and embraces individuality. When her character is tested by a prejudice community and a court case dealing with an African American, Scout has to decide how she can contain herself and stand up for what is right. Scout has faith in Tom Robinson and is determined to reach a verdict. His chances were very thin. Scout believed in him because although the society was against him, she had high hopes. Her battle against the town was intense but Scout learns that though humanity can be evil, it also has greatness for good, and that the evil can often be changed if one approaches others with an outlook of sympathy and understanding. “Maycomb County had recently been told that it had nothing to fear but fear itself.” (HarperLee, 6) The effort during the case was always one hundred percent. Scout never understood the outcome. The journey was a difficult struggle but she never gave up and her courage was still a great weapon in the trial.
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...To Kill a Mockingbird Written Task
In the novel, "To Kill a Mockingbird," HarperLee strongly criticizes prejudice of any kind, positioning readers to view prejudice through her invited reading, as well as a number of characters and discourses presented in the novel. HarperLee positions readers to understand "To Kill a Mockingbird", as a story which highlights the serious issues of prejudice, discrimination and injustice which occurred during the cultural context of the 1930's, in Alabama and the Deep South of North America. The narrator of the text, Scout Finch, demonstrates her maturation she developed throughout the novel, an example of this is when Scout states, "Well, it'd be sort of like shootin' a mockingbird, wouldn't it?" (pg 304) Due to the privileging of this character, readers are positioned to respond to the issues of prejudice through the eyes of Scout. To answer this question the following aspects of the text need to be considered; discourses, gaps and silences, foregrounding and privileging and finally invited, resistant and alternative readings.
Discourses are cultural and social practices through which individuals and groups use language and establish their identities within their society. In "To Kill a Mocking Bird" HarperLee uses 5 forms of discourses;...

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Maycomb, a typical small town in southern Alabama, has the prejudicial attitude which triggers many incidents and also establishes the status of people. Most people have the same beliefs and values in the community of Maycomb. There is a strong division of classes within Maycomb and the rigid class structure has an extensive effect on the events. For instance, Scout condescends to Walter Cunningham when she is explaining to Miss Caroline about his situation. Scout judges Walter based on his family and she is labeling him as the "Cunningham family" which is seemingly meant to be poor and poverty. When Scout tells Miss Caroline about the Cunningham, she thinks it is "clear enough" (24) to the rest of the people. The story is set during the Great Depression, at a time in which millions of Americans lost their jobs. Many people lost their homes, their land, and their dignity. Burris Ewell is not accepted in Maycomb as...

..."...in this country our courts are the great levellers, and in our courts all men are created equal." Describe and explain how justice and injustice are represented through events and characters in To Kill a Mockingbird.
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